The Pro Bowl died a long time ago. Now, the NFL is finally putting the old dog down.
The NFL is replacing the Pro Bowl with weeklong skills competitions and a flag football game, according to The Associated Press.
“The Pro Bowl is something that we’ve been looking at for a while. Really continuing to evolve,” NFL executive Peter O’Reilly told The Associated Press. “Coming out of last year’s game, we really made the decision based on a lot of internal conversations, getting feedback from GMs and coaches, getting a lot of feedback from players. We think there’s a real opportunity to do something wholly different here and move away from the traditional tackle football game. We decided the goal is to celebrate 88 of the biggest stars in the NFL in a really positive, fun, yet competitive way.”
“The feedback very directly from guys who had been in the Pro Bowl recently was to keep the construct of the week. Make sure you’re having that multi-day element. It was overwhelmingly positive both from players as well as from clubs.”
Pro Bowl Fall Off
The NFL has tried different ways to keep this interesting. Similar to MLB and NBA these exhibitions have turned into jokes. No one cares on the field. It’s lead to no one caring off the field.
I’m happy that they are making these changes. At least they’re are trying.
But, might I suggest taking it back to MTV Rock and Jock Games? I want to see Josh Allen throwing bombs down field to Kanye! Maybe throw in a 10 pt TD, or make FG goal posts 20 yard wide, maybe even try some Canadian rules!
The NFL is the best at marketing and owning their season and off season. This is a positive move for the Pro Bowl. At minimum it will be entertaining.
Photo: © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
